A TOTAL of 22 people have been arrested and quantities of drugs seized in three counties over the past week in separate operations.
Twenty people were arrested in the Bray area in the past week following a nine-month investigation into drug trafficking in Wicklow.
Gardaí said last night those arrested were “significant targets” relating to the sale and supply of heroin and cannabis in the Co Wicklow town and its surrounds. They expect more than 50 charges to be brought.
A Garda spokesman said the covert operation had dismantled significant drug distribution networks operating in north Wicklow. Gardaí at Bray, working with the Garda National Drugs Unit, also uncovered further amounts of controlled drugs and drug dealing paraphernalia during the operation.
Separately, gardaí uncovered heroin and cocaine worth almost €1 million at a premises in Kilmurray, Enfield, Co Kildare, on Wednesday.
About 4kg of heroin and 5kg of cocaine with an estimated street value of €950,000 were seized. A man in his early 40s was arrested at the scene and is being detained at Leixlip.
The drugs were discovered on the same day as the biggest drug seizure of the year to date in Coolock, Dublin.
Gardaí are continuing to question a man aged 28 from Dundalk, Co Louth, after the discovery of cannabis resin and herb worth €3.5 million and a large number of unidentified tablets hidden in a consignment of electrical goods in a shipping container.
The seizure followed an intelligence-led operation by the Garda National Drugs Unit and Revenue’s Customs officers after the importation of the haul from the Continent via Dublin Port in recent days.
Garda sources said the drugs were owned by a north Dublin crime gang. The cannabis and tablets were destined for the Dublin market and towns and villages in the northeast. They were discovered on Wednesday night when Customs officers and gardaí raided a warehouse in a business park off the Malahide Road.
A search of the premises yielded 400kg of cannabis resin and just over 50kg of cannabis herb. About 8kg of unidentified tablets was also found.
Gardaí have sent the tablets for analysis and, depending on their results, the value of the overall haul may increase. One source noted the possibility that the tablets were ecstasy pills.
A senior Garda source told The Irish Timesthe consignment was by far the largest drug seizure of the year so far.
“We believe it came in through Dublin Port in the past few days and that it was owned by one of the bigger north Dublin crime gangs,” the source said.
The drugs in the shipping container had been hidden in old electrical appliances such as kettles and vacuum cleaners.
The man arrested was on the warehouse premises in Coolock when the search team arrived. He has been detained under section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drugs Trafficking) Act.
He was still being held at Santry Garda station last night. Garda sources said he was not a well-known criminal figure.
A van found at the scene was seized by gardaí and was undergoing a forensic examination by members of the Garda Technical Bureau last night.
The seizure of such a large quantity of drugs was relatively common during the economic boom. The onset of the recession has seen the demand for drugs, with the exception of heroin, fall off.
Crime gangs here are cash-starved as a result and do not have the capital to buy drugs in bulk abroad at wholesale prices.